Window and ventian blind combination



June 20, 1967 T. HAUCK 3,326,267

I WINDOW AND VENTIAN BLIND COMBINATION Filed March 17, 1965 4sheets-sheet 1 INVENTOR 77/5000 IIflVCK ATTORN EY5 June 20, 1967 T,HAUCK 3,326,267

' WINDOW AND VENTIAN YBLIQND COMBINATION Filed March 17, 1965 4Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEYS June 20, 1967 HAUCK 3,326,267

WINDOW AND VENTIAN BLIND COMBINATION Filed March 17, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet4;

INVENTOR THFOPOFL H ll/CK BY Q1/551 ATTO R N EY5 United States Patent3,326,267 WINDOW AND VENTIAN BLIND COMBINATION Theodore Hauck,Amityville, N.Y., assignor to General Bronze Corporation, Garden City,N.Y. Filed Mar. 17, 1965, Ser. No. 440,533 3 Claims. (Cl. 160107) Thisinvention relates to a window combination including a frame, sash andVenetian blind.

An object of the invention is to provide :a window structure in whichthe Venetian blind operating mechanism may be freely placed in andremoved from a pocket at the upper end of the sash and in such positionthat it will substantially be covered by the upper horizontal stile ofthe sash.

An object of the invention is to provide a unitary Venetian blindstructure in which the tilting of the slats and the raising or loweringof the blind may be accomplished by a continuous movement of a crankoperating handle.

Another object of the invention resides in so constructing the mechanismthat the window frame and sash may be of simple construction.

It is a further object of the invention to permanently house theoperating mechanism for the tilting of the slats and for the raising andlowering of the blind in a casing which may be emplaced and removed fromthe sash as a unit.

A still further object of the invention lies in the provision of such astructure as above set forth which is adapted for use with windows ofvarious types including those having single glazed frames, those havingdouble glazed frames in which both frames are stationary, or in whichone frame is hinged to the other, and permanently emplaced frames orsash frames of the pivoted type.

In the drawing, I have chosen to illustrate the inven tion asincorporated in a window which comprises a frame, a pivoted primary sashand a secondary sash hinged to the pivoted sash but, as I have pointedout, the invention is not limited to such a use or construction,

Referring now to the drawings,

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the pivoted-hinged type of window,showing both sash frames in open position;

FIGURE 2 is a face view, looking from the inside of the window with bothsashes closed;

FIGURE 3 is a vertical sectional view in the plane of line 3-3 of FIGURE2;

FIGURE 4 is a vertical sectional view in the plane of line 4-4 of FIGURE3;

FIGURE 5 is a horizontal sectional view in the plane of line 5-5 ofFIGURE 4;

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view, partly in section, of the slat titlingand blind raising and lowering mechanism;

FIGURE 7 is a perspective view, partly in section, of the slat tiltingdrum and its associated parts; and

FIGURE 8 is a longitudinal sectional view of the clutch mechanism andits associated parts.

The window illustrated comprises a frame 1 of rectangular form. Aprimary sash frame 2 is pivoted on vertical pivots 3 to swing to openand closed positions, it being shown in FIGURE 1 in a partly openposition. A secondary sash frame 4 is hinged at 5 to the primary sashframe 2 in such manner that it may be closed against or swung open fromthe primary frame when the latter is either in the opened or closedpositions.

The secondary sash frame is provided with a continuous inwardlyextending flange 6 which protrudes from the vertical and horizontalstiles 7, 8, 9 and 10. The Venetian blind and its operating mechanismare located within the confines of the flange. The Venetian blind is ofthe ordinary slat type, having slats 11 which are provided with theusual rasing and lowering cords 12 and with the tilting cords, 13, 14,15 and 16, which may be of any desirable flexible material.

The housing 17 for the operating mechanism is adapted to fit within apocket 18 in the upper stile of the hinged sash and is of such smallvertical and horizontal dimensions that it is substantially covered fromthe outside of the window by the stile 8 and is only slightly less inlength than the horizontal measurement of the upper horizontal portionof the flange 6.

The housing 17 is maintained, removably, in the pocket 18 by aspring-biased shaft 19, one end 20 of which is rotatably mounted in abearing 21 carried by the housing. The other end of the shaft isrotatably and removably mounted in a bearing 22 in the upper verticalportion of the flange 6 of the hinged frame.

The shaft is normally positioned with its end in the bearings, asdescribed, "by a gear 23, a spring 24 and a stop 25 secured to the shaft19, the spring normally urging, through the stop 25, the end 20 of theshaft into its bearing 21 and at the same time urging gear 23 intoengagement with an actuating gear 23' later to be described.

All of the tilting and raising and lowering mechanism is mounted on theshaft 19.

The housing 17 may be locked in the pocket 18 by spring clips 18" whichreleasably engage with the edges of the open side of the pocket 18 at18" to prevent accidental displacement.

To simultaneously remove the housing with the raising and lowering andtilting mechanism and the Venetian blind as a unit, it is only necessaryto move the housing longitudinally at which time the end of the housingcarrying the bearing 21 may first be withdrawn from the pocket 18 inwhich the housing is mounted. This will then permit the disengagement ofthe gears 23 and 23' and the removal of the adjacent end of the shaftfrom the bearing 22.

Beyond the operating mechanism which is carried by the housing 17, theentire mechanism includes only a simple actuating mechanism which islocated on the inner side of a vertical flange 6. This mechanismcomprises a vertical shaft 27 which fixedly carries the gear 23'referred to above. This shaft 27 is mounted in a series of bearings 28protruding from the flange 6. The lower end of the shaft 27 fixedlycarries a gear 29 which intermeshes with a gear 34), having a hub 31which rotates in a bearing 32. The gear 30 is maintained in its positionwith the hub 31 within the bearing 32 by a spacer 33 which is insertedin the casing 34 through an opening therein. The spacer is provided witha head 35 which abuts the casing 34 and is locked in position by aresilient snap-on device, such as a snap-ring 36.

In order that the gear 30 may be actuated, I have provided a removableactuating handle 38. A portion of the shank of this crank and thecomplemental recess in the gear 30 are non-circular in cross-section sothat when the crank is rotated it will impart a rotative movement to thegear.

To facilitate the assembly of the shank of the crank into the .gear, Ihave made the leading portion 40 thereof substantially circular incross-section, so that it may enter the recess in the gear 30irrespective of the position of the rectangular opening therein.

In order that the Venetian blind may be raised and lowered after theslats have been tilted to their proper positions, I have provided thefollowing:

The shaft 19 is provided with two spools 41 and 42 which are secured tothe shaft and rotate with it. The raising and lowering cords 12 arewound onto and unwound rom these spools upon the rotation of the shaft19 by the vctuating mechanism.

In order that the slats may be tilted to the proper posiionsirrespective of whether or not the blind is raised, owered, or partiallyraised, or partially lowered, I have irovided the following mechanism:

The shaft 19 which is containuous from end-to-end caries a cylindricaldrum 43 which, when actuated, tilts the ilats into its various tiltablepositions.

The housing 17 is provided with a pulley 44 at one :nd and a similarpulley 45 at the opposite end, around which pulleys, a continuous band46 is arranged. This :and lies within the housing 17 and, as it is movedback 1nd forth tilts the slats. This movement of the band 46 avill movethe connections 49 and 50 between the cords t7 and 48 and the cords 13,14, 15 and 16 in opposite disections, depending upon the direction ofrotation of the drum 43. This will result in the application of atilting pull either the pair of cords 13 and 15 or the pair 14 and [6,depending'upon the direction of movement of the drum. 7

In order that the slats may be tilted to any of their possible angularpositions .by this application of force through the action of the cords47 and 48, before, after, or during the raising or lowering of theblind, I have provided the following mechanism:

The shaft 19 whose end 20 is supported in the bearing 21 at one end ofthe housing, extends through and is supported by a second bearing 54. Apair of spaced brackets 55 and 56 are secured to the base of the casing,the shaft 19 passing through an opening in the bracket 55 and through anotch 57 in the bracket 56, which notch provides a pair of shoulders 58and 59. The drum 43 which has heretofore been referred to is fixedlymounted on the shaft 19. Within the drum 43 and spaced from the drumbase 60 is -a metallic clutch plate 61 having a sleeve 61' extendingfreely through said base. This plate is movable on the shaft inlongitudinal directions and is rotatable with the shaft.

Between the base 60 of the drum 43 and the clutch plate 61 is located acork clutchfacing 62. Washers 63 and 64 of material having lowcoefficient of friction, such as Teflon, are located on opposite sidesof the metallic bracket 55.

The sleeve 61' carries two spaced metallic washers 65 and 66 betweenwhich is a sleeve embracing spring 67. Locking means for this assemblyis mounted on the shaft 19 and in the form shown comprises adjustingscrewthreads and lock nuts 68 adjustably mounted upon the shaft 19 andprovided with means for securing the lock nuts to the'sleeve. Thepurpose of this spring is to cause the frictional engagement between thefaces ofthe clutch plate 61, the cork member 62, and the base 60 of thedrum 43, and the purpose of the spring 67 is to vary the force withwhich these clutch faces engage so that the tilting mechanism may beadjusted to operate with blinds of various weights.

One of the cords 47 or 48 passes from the point of attachment 49 or'50to the band 46 around a roller 53 and thence around the drum 43 to apoint of attachment 69, in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction,while the other of these cords passes under the roller 53 and around thedrum 43 in the opposite direction and is attached at 70 to the drum at apoint diametrically oppositethe point of attachment 69. Thus upon therotation of this drum in one or the other of its directions of rotation,one of the cords 47 or 48 will rotate the drum while the other isreleased to permit such rotation. Since the cords 47 and 48 areconnected to the tilting cords,

13, 14, 15 and 16 the partial rotation of the drum 43 will tilt theslats into their possible positions of tilting.

However, the drum 43 is provided with a stop member 71 which isengageable with the shoulders 58 or 59 according to the direction ofrotation of the drum. The

engagement of this stop member 71 with one of the shoulders will arrestthe movement of the drum, this arresting of the movement being permittedby the slipping of the clutch plates. Thus the continued rotation of theshaft 19 caused by the handle 38 will have no effect upon the tilting ofthe slats but will raise or lower the blind.

When the handle 38 is first actuated, the gear 66 and its associatedgear train will through the gear 23 rotate the shaft 19. This rotationof the shaft will Wind the cords 12 upon the spools 41 and 42 and willrotate the drum 43 in one direction. This rotation of the drum will,through the gears 47 or 48, move the band 46 around the pulleys and,because of the attachment of the cords 13 and 14 and 15 and 16 to thisband 46 of the points 49 and 59, the slats will be tilted. This tiltingwill continue until the stop 71 moves from one shoulder 58 or 59 to theopposite shoulder at which time the rotation of the drum will bearrested because of the slippage of the clutch. However, the rotation ofthe shaft and of the spools 41 and 42 will continue.

Thus, the initial movement of the operating handle will tilt the slatsand the continued and uninterrupted movement of the handle will raise orlower the blind to the desired degree.

This tilting of the slats may be accomplished regardless of whether ornot the blind is in a raised, lowered or intermediate position. When itis desired to remove the casing and the raising and lowering mechanism,and the Venetian blind as a unit, it is only necessary to move thecasing longitudinally (as for instance to the right in FIGURE 6) in thepocket to a slight degree. This will permit the disengagement of theopposite end of the shaft from the bearing opening 22 and will permitthe disengagement of the gear 23 from the gear 26. The assembly may thenbe removed as a unit by first withdrawing the end of the casing at thebearing end 20 from the pocket and then the opposite end of the casing.If the locking clips 18' are used these, of course, will be firstremoved.

Thus it will be seen that I have provided a Venetian blind combinationincluding a blind, a housing for the tilting and raising and loweringmechanism for the blind which may be inserted in and removed as a unitfrom an open pocket which housing is substantially coextensive with andhidden by the upper stile of the window sash. I have also provided sucha mechanism in combination with two window sashes, one of which ishinged to the other, and each of which is provided with a glass so thatwhen the sashes are closed, one against the other, the Venetian blindand its operating mechanism will be located between and protected by theglass of the sashes.

In this specification I have spoken of cords but I wish it to beunderstood that by cords I means to include tapes and other elongatedflexible members which will perform the functions of the cords in thisinvention.

While I have illustrated and described a particular embodiment of theinvention, it will be understood that many modifications may be made andwill occur to those skilled in the art. I, therefore, do not wish to belimited to this particular disclosure except as is made necessary by theclaims.

What I claim is:

1. In combination, a window sash comprising upper and side stiles, apocket member adjacent to said upper stile, a housing removably mountedin said pocket member, a Venetian blind raising, lowering andslat-tilting mechanism permanently mounted in said housing, a Venetianblind suspended from said mechanism, and actuating means connected toand actuated by said mechanism to transmit motion from said mechanism tosaid blind to tlit the slats thereof and to raise and lower said blind,said housing, mechanism and blind being rea movable from said sash as aunit, said Venetian blind trolled drum rotatable on said shaft, saidslat-tilting actuating means comprising cords attached to said slats andwindable on said drum, and cords being attached to said spools and tosaid slats for lowering and raising the blind, and means for resilientlyurging said housing against one end of said pocket member to maintainsaid housing in position in said pocket member, said sash being mountedin a stationary window frame, and said frame being provided with anactuating gear for said shaft and a gear slidably mounted on said shaftand spring-pressed into engagement with said first mentioned gear.

2. In combination, a window sash comprising upper and side stiles, apocket member adjacent to said upper stile, a housing removably mountedin said pocket member, a Venetian blind raising, lowering andslat-tilting mechains permanently mounted in said housing, a Venetionblind suspended from said mechanism, and actuating means connected toand actuated by said mechanism to transmit motion from said mechanism tosaid blind to tilt the slats thereof and to raise and lower said blind,said housing, mechanism and blind being removable from said sash as aunit, said Venetian blind raising, lowering and slat-tilting mechanismcomprising a shaft rotatably mounted in said housing, a cluch-controlleddrum rotatable on said shaft, cords attached to said slats and windableon said shaft, cords attached to said drum to said slats for tilting theblind, said sash being mounted in a window frame, a gear mounted on saidshaft, a gear carried by said window frame engageable with anddisengageable from said first mentioned gear mounted on said windowframe, and means for actuating said gears.

3. The combination recited in claim 2 wherein said gears arespring-pressed into engagement with each other.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 198,682 12/1877 Raeke -3091,147,188 7/1915 Rojas 160309 X 2,523,003 9/1950 Donop 160172 2,687,7698/1954 Gershuny 160170 2,737,235 3/1956 Hediger 160170 3,090,428 5/1963Lidin 160168 3,100,013 8/1963 Randmark 160168 FOREIGN PATENTS 6,410 4/1888 Great Britain. 587,858 1/1959 Itlay.

DAVID, J. WILLIAMOWSKY, Primary Examiner.

HARRISON R. MOSELEY, Examiner.

P. M. CAUN, Assistant Examiner.

2. IN COMBDINATION, A WINDOW SASH COMPRISING UPPER AND SIDE STILES, APOCKET MEMBER ADJACENT TO SAID UPPER STILE, A HOUSING REMOVABLY MOUNTEDIN SAID POCKET MEMBER, A VENETIAN BLIND RAISING, LOWERING ANDSLAT-TILTING MECHANISM PERMANENTLY MOUNTED IN SAID HOUSING, A VENETIONBLIND SUSPENDED FROM SAID MECHANISM, AND ACTUATING MEANS CONNECTED TOAND ACTUATED BY SAID MECHANISM TO TRANSMIT MOTION FROM SAID MECHANISM TOSAID BLIND TO TILT THE SLATS THEREOF AND TO RAISE AND LOWER SAID BLIND,SAID HOUSING, MECHANISM AND BLIND BEING REMOVABLE FROM SAID SASH AS AUNIT, SAID VENETIAN BLIND RAISING, LOWERING AND SLAT-TILTING MECHANISMCOMPRISING A SHAFT ROTATABLY